Monday, October 1, 2012

Willkommen Fall: Oktoberfest Fun 2012

With the arrival of October, I think it may be (finally) safe to say that fall is here! It has been a pretty hot and miserable summer in Kansas City. Between worrying about heatstroke and sunburn in the toddler and being pregnant, we have hardly been able to leave the house. And it has been less than fun.

This weekend, we had no real plans - other than cleaning the disaster house, no fun - so we spent Saturday morning walking around the local Oktoberfest celebration! It was a gorgeous day and Lincoln was entertained by all of the various booths, performers, and crowds.

But definitely the section that intrigued him the most was the carnival! I was a little bit obsessed with the bright colored Ferris Wheel. Neither of us had any desire whatsoever to ride it, but I spent a fair amount of time trying to shoot it in manual on my Nikon D3000. I'm a little bit out of practice as I find myself having to use auto most of the time - wild toddler and good exposure settings are hard for me to match in my state of extreme amateur photographer. I realized after taking these shots that I really need an external flash attachment - the above photo would definitely have turned out better if I had more control over the light balance.

Lincoln watched all of the rides in amazement and we discussed whether or not it was worth the overpriced carnival tickets to let him experience one. Ultimately we decided it would be fun this year - when we can stop at just one ride - unlike next fall when I'm sure he will have very definite opinions on what he wants to do. The decision was made and we picked out the elephant ride (which is awfully similar to a certain elephant ride we saw on our trip to Disney in 2010).

Then came a fun dilemma - neither of us had brought any cash. We thought all was lost, but on an off chance, we walked back to the car and scrounged up the whole $6 that we needed to buy two tickets! And only half of it was in change - not bad, right?!

Daddy and the little man climbed on board and went soaring around for several minutes of delight. Lincoln had a somewhat concerned look on his face most of the ride, so I wasn't sure if he was actually enjoying himself - but Daddy said when it was time to get off, he threw a little mini tantrum so obviously it must have been a hit.

Our adventure may not have been the most exciting, but it was just perfect for this pregnant mama - getting to see my boys have fun together was the highlight of my weekend!

Oh yes, that's right. One more photo of that gorgeous Ferris Wheel. Anybody want a ride?